Gig Workers Rising

New Campaign Campaigns

• 

  Uber: Give Drivers Their Fair Share

  My name is Mostafa Maklad and I have been an Uber driver since 2014. I’ve given 8,000 rides, usually driving between 50-60 hours a week — though sometimes it’s 80. The living hourly wage — the amount of money one needs to earn to afford housing, food, medical care and transportation — is about $20 for a single adult in San Francisco; I routinely make half that. Because of this, I joined the international Uber Shut Down on May 8th. Together, drivers made history. Rideshare drivers in six countries across the world organized a global day of action protesting Uber's IPO. In the U.S., over 10 cities joined in including Philadelphia, Boston, Atlanta, Chicago, New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Drivers in every city stood together to call on Uber to pay us a living wage and treat us with dignity and respect. Uber drivers provide services that so many rely on every day to move through their lives — rides to school, work, medical appointments, social events and safe passage back home. As drivers, we pour ourselves into our work, doing one of the most dangerous jobs in our society to ensure that every passenger arrives safely at their destination. But Uber excludes us from basic worker protections. Without these protections, we face low wages and labor abuses. We have no way to organize and Uber denies us crucial benefits like health insurance, disability, overtime or workers comp. We face unsafe working conditions and have no recourse when we're deactivated. Drivers take all the risk, executives get all the reward. But now, we are calling on Uber to give us our fair share: - Living wage: Uber must pay drivers a livable hourly rate (after expenses). - Transparency: Clear policies on wages, tips, fare breakdowns and deactivations. - Benefits: Such as disability, workers comp, retirement, health care, death benefits, and paid time off. - Voice at work: A recognized independent worker organization, the freedom to stand together without fear of retaliation and a fair and transparent process for deactivations. Sign on now to stand with drivers!

  1,500 of 2,000 Signatures

  Created by Gig Workers Rising
• 

  Drivers Need a Living Wage

  My name is Mostafa Maklad and I am an Uber driver in San Francisco. I've been a driver for 3 years and have given over 8000 rides on Uber. Uber is about to launch their IPO, which will put billions in the pockets of executives. But I can't help but wonder: what will drivers get? Uber and Lyft drivers provide services that so many people rely on every day to move through their lives — rides to school, work, medical appointments, social events and safe passage back home. As drivers, we pour ourselves into our work, doing one of the most dangerous jobs in our society to ensure that every passenger arrives safely at their destination. But Uber denies rideshare drivers like me a living wage by constantly slashing rates and pocketing the difference. Drivers should make a living wage. California has always been a leader in protecting workers and now it is time for California to take the lead again - drivers need a living wage.

  65 of 100 Signatures

  Created by Gig Workers Rising
• 

  Uber & Lyft: Reverse the Rate Cut

  More and more drivers are living in their cars. Unable to afford housing based off earnings as a driver, or unable to travel the distance home. More and more drivers are spending less time with their families, seeing their children, or taking care of themselves, because they cannot afford to turn their app off. What once was a reliable way to make income has become a cycle of driving as many hours as possible to barely scrape by. As Uber and Lyft prepare to go public this year with IPO offerings, they are doing everything in their power to show the profitability of their business. And they are doing this by taking more and more money from their drivers. Uber just reached a new low - cutting drivers’ mileage rates from $0.99/mile to $0.68/mile. Not only did Uber decrease the overall mileage rate, they changed the way drivers receive surge pricing - which is an incentive pay that drivers rely on to make a living. Prior to the change, surge pricing was based on a multiplier of the total trip (i.e 1.8x surge would earn the driver an additional 80% on the overall trip). The current change in surge pricing places a flat dollar rate such as $2.50, with a note that claims “you may earn even more than this amount on longer rides.” The key wording here is “may.” Driver experience has shown us that while some trips have added additional surge, others have not. Uber’s lack of transparency on how they formulate and determine surge payouts leaves drivers guessing what their fare will be. Gig Workers Rising is taking action against Uber and Lyft’s unyielding greed. Reverse the rate cuts and give drivers a voice! Join us by taking action and signing our petition.

  5,108 of 6,000 Signatures

  Created by Gig Workers Rising
• 

  Uber and Lyft: Give Drivers a Voice

  “When Uber deactivated me, I had been driving for them for 2 years. One day, I woke up and couldn’t log in to the app. Uber deactivated me because of a glitch in their system. In my case, the deactivation was Uber’s fault, but drivers get unfairly deactivated every day for all sorts of reasons. Uber kept me out of work for 3 weeks and I fell behind on my car payment. A car payment that I was making to Uber, because I had been leasing a car from them for 18 months. Once my account was reactivated, I worked 12-13 hours a day to catch up on my car payment. It didn’t matter. Uber repossessed my car - taking the thing that I rely on to make a living and something that I was leasing from them. Even though I’ve been reactivated, I live in constant fear that I could be deactivated again for some unknown reason. We shouldn't have to live like this.” -Eleisha R. Every day, Uber and Lyft drivers work under a constant fear of having their accounts deactivated. Deactivation is the equivalent of an immediate firing. Drivers are frequently deactivated with little to no warning, and they are often given no explanation of why they were deactivated, or how they can remedy the situation. The constant threat of termination, in addition to limited opportunity for recourse, means drivers are constantly in a state of fear. Drivers’ stability at work is entirely out of their hands. Instead, their future is decided by the whims of passengers and the companies. It is almost impossible for drivers to advocate for themselves once deactivated, or to fight for reactivation. If you aren't an Uber or Lyft driver, can you imagine working in these conditions? There are numerous things that trigger deactivations including car accidents, background checks, passenger complaints and driver personal safety concerns. Clear policies on why deactivations occur must be developed for each of these issues and more. Drivers need a voice at Uber and Lyft in shaping these policies to better protect both drivers and passengers alike. Drivers deserve a seat at the table. Gig Workers Rising has decided that it is time to take action against Uber and Lyft’s unfair deactivation practices and the devastating impacts they have on drivers. This petition will be delivered in person to Uber and Lyft by drivers. Join us by taking action and signing our petition.

  5,335 of 6,000 Signatures

  Created by Gig Workers Rising